"Do you think the people from the three great empires won't react so quickly?"
Lin Xiao said, also walking to the sand table and looking at the arrangements on it. Although he hadn't been on many battlefields, he could still understand the things about it.
"It's not about whether they can react or not." Ju Zi looked at Lin Xiao's figure beside the sand table. "It's that the people from the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling empires may not necessarily put their full effort into helping Star Luo."
"There have always been gaps between their three countries. Although our pressure has forced them to unite, they are far from being completely of one mind."
"Either a commander appears whom everyone can trust, or they themselves discover the true strength of the Sun Moon Empire. Until then, they all have their own thoughts."
"Especially after His Highness declared war, reasons were spread to the three great empires, not everyone can see far enough ahead…"
Ju Zi did not finish her words. Lin Xiao turned his head to look at her, and he already understood what she meant.
The assassination attempt on Xu Tianran was not proposed by the three great empires at the same time. Xu Tianran used this as an excuse to launch the war, and the three great empires would inevitably push responsibility onto each other.
Some people who did not understand the situation might even naively think that as long as Xu Tianran vented his anger, the war could be stopped.
Even if the royal families of the three great empires could see clearly that this was all just Xu Tianran's excuse, with so many people in the three empires, it was inevitable that some would have different ideas.
Although these things did not seem significant now, they were real cracks that existed between the three great empires.
Lin Xiao did not know whether this was Xu Tianran's idea or Ju Zi's plan, but in terms of results, this assassination attempt on the three great empires was not a good thing for them.
Lin Xiao nodded and did not continue on this topic. "When I came over just now, I saw that the city was still quite busy. What is your next plan?"
"The White Tiger Duke was ambushed, and his whereabouts are unknown. The next step is naturally to take advantage of the Star Luo Empire not reacting in time and use the aerial advantage of the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion to cross the Ming Dou Mountain Range and strike directly at Tianming City."
Ju Zi did not hide her intentions. "As long as we can hold this strategic fortress, it can become our bridgehead to further advance the front line."
Lin Xiao paused upon hearing this, but after thinking about it, it made sense. The original Sun Moon Empire had used a similar tactic, targeting the Star Luo Empire's commander right from the start.
Dai Hao liked to lead personally. As long as preparations were made in advance, targeting him was not difficult.
"You plan to…"
Lin Xiao was about to ask more when he suddenly stopped. On the nearby seat, Ju Zi, still in her armor, had already leaned back against the chair and fallen into a deep sleep, letting out steady breaths.
With a quiet sigh, Lin Xiao gently walked to the sand table and continued studying the Sun Moon Empire army's deployments.
It was no exaggeration to say that Ju Zi's ability in commanding troops far surpassed Lin Xiao's. The arrangements on this sand table were enough for Lin Xiao to study seriously.
Late into the night, two pieces of intelligence arrived almost simultaneously on Xu Jiawei's desk in Star Luo City. One was that Xu Tianran had publicly announced the assassination attempt in Mingdu and declared war on the three great empires because of it.
Xu Jiawei naturally knew about the assassination of Xu Tianran in advance; otherwise, how could he have allowed Xu Jiujiu to take a Star Luo Empire's Titled Douluo to Mingdu?
But now, the assassination had failed, the Titled Douluo had no news so far, the Sun Moon Empire had formally declared war, and the team that went to Mingdu for the elite competition had been detained.
The other piece of news made his expression even uglier. The White Tiger Duke had been ambushed and gone missing while inspecting the border. It was obvious that the Sun Moon Empire's attack would follow soon, and the situation in Tianming City was probably not optimistic.
"Someone!"
"Your Majesty."
Xu Jiawei called out loudly, and a guard's response soon came from outside the door.
"Pass down the order: command the Four Offerings, Sui Xing, Ju Chui, Tian Sha, and Yi Huang, to head to Tianming City to resist the Sun Moon Empire's attack."
"Command Xuanji Douluo to temporarily assume the position of Western Border Marshal, lead the entire army, and must block the Sun Moon Empire's offensive."
"Yes!"
The guard clasped his fist in acknowledgment and hurriedly left.
After pondering for a moment, Xu Jiawei suddenly picked up a paper and pen from the table and quickly wrote several letters. After sealing them, he called out toward the door again.
"Someone."
"Your Majesty."
"Deliver these letters according to the addresses on the envelopes, to the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires. And this one, send it urgently to Shrek Academy."
Xu Jiawei handed over the several letters in his hand, his gaze gradually becoming somber.
"Notify everyone: starting today, the Star Luo Empire enters a state of war readiness. The Sun Moon Empire has no intention but to destroy us. The people of Star Luo will swear to defend the country to the death!"
"Yes!"
Similar scenes were unfolding almost simultaneously in the Heavenly Soul and Dou Ling Empires, though the news they received about the Ming Dou Mountain Range arrived quite a bit later than Xu Jiawei's.
Although the three great empires also had sound-transmitting soul tools, both their coverage and transmission distance were far inferior to the Sun Moon Empire's.
By the time the three great empires fully understood what had happened, and Xu Jiawei had made arrangements after Dai Hao's disappearance, the Sun Moon Empire's forces had already entered the Ming Dou Mountain Range.
"What time is it?"
Lin Xiao was sitting quietly meditating on a nearby seat when a lazy voice suddenly sounded beside his ear.
"It should be almost dawn." Lin Xiao did not open his eyes, just replying softly.
"You've been here the whole time?"
"You fell asleep right after I arrived, and you didn't arrange a room for me."
"That's really embarrassing." Ju Zi chuckled lightly, stood up, and stretched lazily. "Since coming here, I haven't really slept much. After you arrived, I felt much more at ease."
"I'm not good at military affairs."
Ju Zi smiled and shook her head. "The time is about right. The real war is just beginning."
Lin Xiao finally opened his eyes and looked at the Ju Zi before him. The woman who commanded the army was completely different from usual, making people completely forget her cultivation level and her status as consort. Right now, she was simply the commander of this army.
"You need to get moving, too."
Lin Xiao stood up upon hearing this. "You arrange it."
"The Ming Dou Mountain Range should be mostly cleared by now. In a while, take people to the cliff base below the Ming Dou Mountain Range and find the White Tiger Duke's body." Ju Zi paused for a moment. "Even if he's still alive, he shouldn't be your opponent."
"Alright."
Lin Xiao did not say much and agreed straightforwardly.
"Let's go."
With that, Ju Zi walked out first. Though it was not yet dawn, there was already some light in the distance.
Just as they reached the door, a messenger soldier hurried over.
"Report to the Marshal: we have completely occupied the Ming Dou Mountain Range. All of the Star Luo Empire's arrangements have been cleared."
"Good. Transmit the order to the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Legion, attack according to the original plan!"
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